FIFA 23 launched yesterday to largely tepid reviews. As our own Stacey Henley reports, it’s largely the same game, and at this point, it should really just be a live-service title with seasonal updates rather than a new premium game release each and every year.
And while FIFA 23 is okay on consoles, it’s an absolute disaster on PC. Steam currently has FIFA 23 at 29 percent, or “mostly negative” reviews, and that’s largely due to an anti-cheat bug that’s preventing players from even accessing the game.
The error players are getting is: "EA anti-cheat service encountered an error. Please restart the game. (57)." Players will then restart only to be presented the same error over and over again. The error comes up on both Steam and Origin PC users, but not on Xbox or PlayStation.
EA has confirmed it’s aware of the issue and is currently investigating. While a fix is being determined, the recommended temporary workaround is to fully exit Origin/Steam/EA Apps on your PC and then relaunch with Administrator privileges. Then try launching FIFA 23.
An anti-cheat bug isn't the only thing bringing FIFA 23 down on PC. Some EA Play subscribers are being told that the servers are down, and many people are saying they never got their pre-order bonuses including the 4,600 FIFA points for pre-ordering the Ultimate Edition.
Even if you manage to get into FIFA 23, more players are reporting a game that was poorly optimized for PC. Laggy menus, bizarre physics bugs, and choppy cutscenes are just some of the issues players have reported.
PC optimization will likely take several months for EA to correct, but the anti-cheat issue should be solved somewhat faster. Keep an eye on the EA Help Twitter account for more info.
If you manage to actually get into FIFA 23 and don't find its performance too horrible, then you might take issue with commentator Stewart Robson calling your plays absolute rubbish. If that's the case, there's an option to silence the commentary to vastly improve your FIFA experience.